


Malama

by heffermonkey



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Community: 1-million-words, Emotional Hurt, Episode Related, Friendship, Gen, Male Friendship, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 17:14:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4969471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heffermonkey/pseuds/heffermonkey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny arrives to celebrate and instead prepares for the fallout.</p><p>Coda for Season 6 Ep 3.</p><p>SPOILERS for the episode if you haven't seen it yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Malama

**Author's Note:**

> Malama - To take care of, Protect

Danny raised his hand, about to tap on the door when he heard the gentle noise of guitar strings being played. It didn’t seem to be any particular song, but there was a melancholy tune to the chords, a couple of light strums, pause, more strumming, pause. He was more surprised when he heard a low hum of singing begin to accompany the tune, now an endless flow of verse and chords. Danny didn’t understand the words because Steve was singing in Hawaiian, but it sounded sad in a way that made Danny’s heart clench tightly.

He couldn’t bring himself to knock and interrupt his friend, neither could he simply walk away. He wondered what had put Steve in such a dramatically changed mood from hours previous when he’d shown Danny the ring and Danny knew right then and there. He’d known it when he’d met with Catherine when they’d hugged. He’d sensed the tension in her body, put it down to her being on the offensive because he’d side swiped her about the meet and bringing up the idea of her leaving again. He was a detective for Christ sake – he knew when people were lying and for all her training, she’d shown the signs. He’d chosen to ignore them, perhaps on a subconscious level, because he wanted to believe for his guy that something this year would actually go right for him.

Without knocking, he grasped the door handle, prepared himself for anything and slipped the door open, slowly and quietly stepping inside. Steve was obviously deep in thought as he played and sang because he didn’t pause or look around from where he was sat on the couch. It unnerved Danny when Steve wasn’t on his game, even in the comfort and security of his own home. Not that Danny had barged in, but Steve would have still usually paid heed to the door opening. Danny hovered again, not wanting to scare him but not wanting to be caught eavesdropping and watching secretly. The song seemed to never end and Danny didn’t think he could take much more of its sad, lilting verses. He didn’t need to know the words, it was evident it was about grief, or loss, or having your heart broken by a person you loved.

Purposefully he closed the door harder, letting it click shut sharply and at the same time said ‘Hey’ with as much laid-back smoothness as he could. The song came to an abrupt halt and Steve looked around quickly, a surprised, deer in headlights moment. He relaxed when he saw it was Danny and quickly set the guitar down, jumping to his feet quickly.

“Hey, we catch a lead or something?” Steve asked, looking hopeful. Danny shook his head, hands slung into his pockets and they stared at each other for a long ten seconds in silence.

“No – I uh – I thought,” Danny began. He’d arrived half hoping to crash in on the celebrations because he couldn’t help himself. He wouldn’t’ have stayed long, but enough to give them both his congratulations because Steve deserved some happiness again. Deserved to have things go right again, after the year of hell they’d both gone through, emotionally, physically. He looked around and there was an eerie, empty, quietness about the house. Catherine couldn’t have been gone long and for a moment he hated her – hated that she’d lied, that he’d believed she would stay for Steve. “She’s gone isn’t she?”

One of them had to say it and Steve wasn’t currently offering up any details. May as well lay it out in front of them, one more emotional rollercoaster Steve was going to have to ride. Danny could at least show him he didn’t have to ride alone, even if there was little to do but hold on tight and be there for him when it got a little too much.

“You want a beer?” Steve asked, heading for the kitchen without answering his question or waiting for an answer to his own.

Danny followed him through and took the beer offered, breaking off the cap using the side of the table, a terrible habit he’d not been able to break in the last five years. Steve didn’t even complain about it these days. He shadowed Steve until they were outside and sitting in the lawn chairs, looking out over the ocean.

“I told her I wouldn’t wait for her this time,” Steve said eventually, before swallowing down half his bottle in one foul swoop. “She said she understood.”

Danny nodded, glanced at his own bottle and took a good few swallows of his own. Resting it down on the arm of the chair, he glanced over at his friend, ‘his guy’ he recalled affectionately telling Catherine; a conversation seemed like forever ago now.

“I’m sorry,” Danny said simply because he was and there was nothing much else to say. Nothing he could do to fix things or bolster Steve’s mood. “It’s – it’s real fucked up babe.”

“You can say that again,” Steve agreed, sinking lower into the lawn chair. “Mind if we don’t talk about it right now?”

“Course not,” Danny told him. “We’re gonna finish these bottles, I’ll fetch the rest of the pack out of the fridge and then later we’ll order take out and maybe open that scotch I know you’ve got hidden at the back of that bureau in the dining room.”

“Sounds like a plan partner,” Steve gave a smile which didn’t light up his face like it usually would. His eyes were too sad, glassy with red fading on the rims. Steve closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, weary of the emotional onslaught Catherine’s leaving had obviously left him battling.

“Maybe I’ll bring your guitar out too,” Danny added, eyes on him, watchful and wary.

“God no,” Steve frowned, not opening his eyes. “I was only making myself more depressed.”

“You sounded good,” Danny assured him before smirking. “Although, yeah, choice of song was a little too melancholy and deep for my tastes.”

“It’s an old native song, about two lovers moving in different directions,” Steve said. He paused and sighed again, “There’s a part where you think maybe they’ll come back together because they belong together, but they never do, like two pieces of driftwood floating further and further apart.”

Danny remained silent, watching him and Steve gave a small smile, squinting his eyes open and looking round at him, “You think I sounded good?”

“Well, yeah,” Danny smiled and nodded. “I mean you aren’t about to go and win any Grammys or nothing, but you got style McGarrett.”

Steve grinned, rested his head back again, ego suitably mollified and Danny was glad he’d managed to put a smile on his face, even if it didn’t last very long.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome buddy.”

~ fin ~


End file.
